4 Toronto Maple Leafs Prospects That Will Impact the 2024-25 Season
Heading into the 2024-25 NHL season the Toronto Maple Leafs roster is completely up in air with several question marks.
Are Tyler Bertuzzi and Max Domi returning? Is Toronto Maple Leafs management going to try and move on from Mitch Marner or John Tavares? Will there be an abundance of youth brought into the roster?
To answer the first question, I can see the Leafs bringing back Domi, but not at the dollar amount his camp is trying to leak as reliable information.
The second question, I believe management will explore moving both Marner and Tavares, but I think they will return to the team with extensions being worked out.
The final question is what I find very interesting and that is regarding how many prospects will be on the Maple Leafs roster.
I believe as many as four rookies will play significant roles on the team this upcoming season and here are who they are.
The Leafs are in a position where they can finally start mixing in some young and cheap talent with their core for better results. We saw this year as Matthew Knies, Bobby McMann, Joseph Woll, Timothy Liljegren and Nick Robertson provided the Leafs with a ton of cheap value.
Here is who can do the same thing next season:
4 Toronto Maple Leafs Prospects That Will Impact the 2024-25 Season
Easton Cowan
I think the easiest name to predict that will make the team is Easton Cowan who is their top prospect and currently playing for the Memorial Cup.
The Mount Brydges native has represented Canada at the World Junior Championships, won OHL Player of the Year, OHL Playoff MVP and an OHL title all while looking to take home the CHL championship.
To put it bluntly, Cowan has very little he needs to prove at Canada's top junior hockey league. What is usually seen as a negative for 19-year olds, but could play in Cowan's favour is that his deal with the CHL makes him ineligible to play in the in the American Hockey League next year.
This may force the organizations hand to have him crack the NHL roster.
Fraser Minten
Fraser Minten surprised a lot of people during the Toronto Maple Leafs 2023 training camp and was able to crack the line-up for the first four games of the season playing as much as 14-minutes in one of the contests.
Minten projects as the future third line center on the team and will have every opportunity to seize that spot next fall. The 2022 second round selection captained Canada at the World Junior Championships and does have some offensive upside but he is known more for his two-way detailed game. Let's just hope it isn't the same projection that Frederik Gauthier had.
Minten collected 48 points in 43 WHL games split between Kamloops and Saskatoon before adding another 14 in 16 playoff games.
Unlike Cowan, Minten can be sent to the Toronto Marlies and there is a realistic scenario where he starts the season in the American Hockey League, however, if he has a solid training camp or there are injuries up the middle Minten could be skating in playoff games for the Maple Leafs next spring.
Topi Niemela
There is no secret that the Maple Leafs have lacked a top end powerplay quarterback and are lacking one on their current roster. Topi Niemelä who is known for his puck moving skills could be able to take this role.
The 2020 third round selection has continually improved each season since being draft. Niemelä won the top defenseman at the 2020 World Junior Championships when he led the tournament in all offensive categories and had won two medals in back-to-back tournaments.
He has a strong rookie season in the AHL and will get some NHL consideration next season for sure.
The Finnish defenseman completed his first full season in North America where he led the Marlies blue line in points with 39 over 68 games. This upcoming season Niemelä could start the year on the third pairing and coach Craig Berube could experiment with him leading the top powerplay unit.
Cade Weber
Acquired at this past trade deadline, Cade Webber signed his entry level contract shortly after Boston University was knocked out of the Frozen Four tournament.
Standing at 6'7", Webber is a pure stay at home, shot blocking defenseman as demonstrated by leading the country in that category. The Massachusetts native did just sign his ELC, but he is the oldest of the four prospects as he was drafted in 2019 and will turn 24 mid season.
Certainly he can give the Leafs a better option than Joel Edmundson or Ilya Lyubushkin.
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Webber will get a long look in training camp and could push Simon Benoit for ice-time this upcoming season.